Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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108 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emily was great!, August 9, 2003
Emily Welsh is a new FIRM instructor, but she was great! She made this complete workout fun. It's got weight training, cardio, and lots of the time they use the new Sculpting Stick to add variety. Start out by warming up with Fanny Lifter, then launch into weight work that alernates upper and lower body exercises, a technique called PHA (peripheral heart action) training that burns more calories by forcing the heart to pump between distant muscle groups. Cardio intervals are interspersed throughout, everthing from kickboxing to step aerobics. End with four limb with the "twigs" (the ends of the sculpting stick) and then hit the floor for upper body work and an abdominal section that will change your mind about ab work! The stretch is long, relaxing, and complete- a great finish! This workout is about an hour long. Kitka
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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun to do and a great workout too!, March 4, 2006
I have had very little experience with The Firm, but lately, I've been enjoying videos that feature aerobic weight training (such as the FitPrime and WHFN series), so I decided to give this a try. Complete Aerobics and Weight Training is a 58-minute workout which combines cardio segments with cardio/sculpt intervals to give you a great workout; it's led by Emily Welsh. Equipment used in this workout includes The Firm "Fanny Lifter," a 2-part step (both the full step and the low position are used here), 3 sets of dumbbells, and The Firm "Sculpting Stick" (dumbbells can be substituted and/or you can use a wall/mop for balance).
The workout begins with an basic 6.5 minute warm-up that quickly gets the heart pumping, especially with the set of push-ups at the end. Next comes 4-limbed toning work, combining squats and dips with shoulder presses and bicep curls. Upper body only work follows, and then it's the first cardio segment, which includes some fun punches and flows nicely from one combination to the next.
More lower body work is next, this time incorporating the bar for balance--you could double up with the weights and forgo the bar, but this section is tough even with it! The stick is also used as a weight for hover squats, but I just substituted heavy dumbbells, which worked fine. The next cardio segment uses the low portion of the Fanny Lifter. Because I don't do step aerobics, I had a little bit of trouble picking up the choreography here, but still, I found the moves to be fun and especially enjoyed the kicks.
Alternating lower and upper work follows with plies and bicep curls. The stick is again used for balance leg presses with abduction. There is also triceps work with the french press and triceps kickbacks--the latter set is short, so you probably want to use both arms for the entire set instead of alternating as shown. The final cardio segment uses the ends of the sculpting stick, or "twigs," but just pick up light weights (I used 3#) and you'll be fine. Again, the moves are kickboxing-inspired, with punches, side kicks, and a fun little hop move.
The final toning work is on the floor and includes a 1-arm triceps push-up, flies, pullovers, triceps press, and chest press. The floorwork finishes with a nice abs section that moves quickly through several different crunch variations. (During this section, I recognized some of the music from the Crunch Fat-Burning Pilates floor segment.) A nice final stretch is performed mostly on the floor; Emily is thorough, but none of the stretches are held very long (although I did really enjoy the final neck stretch!). I felt great at the end of this workout--nicely worked out, but not exhausted--and I was pleased to see on my heart rate monitor that I had stayed in my target zone for a full 40 minutes PLUS had burned 341 calories.
Although one of the background exercisers shows modifications throughout, I wouldn't recommend this video to absolute beginners who are unfamiliar with weight training. However, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to more experienced beginners to intermediates looking for a fun, effective routine. I really enjoyed this workout and know that I will use it often; I will be looking to try other Firms as well.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Use Original Firm w/Fanny Lifter; Then Buy This Tape Only, December 5, 2003
After using the The Firm Body Building System with the Fanny Lifter,to add variety I purchased the The Firm's Body Building System I with the Sculpting Stick. System II contains three videos (Total Sculpt plus Abs, Complete Aerobics & Weight Training, and Maximum Cardio Abs) and stick only. I've tried each of the workouts several times and found the routines to be very similar to the original System routines, except it used the stick to provide stability or give a little more resistance. Because I'm short, the stick gave me more stability when doing the exercises that required me to step up on the 14" Fanny Lifter. Using the stick for stability also allowed me to do deeper squats. I found the Lift & Hover Squats to be a bit more challenging, because I wasn't use to having anything spread along my shoulders. After my first workout, I could feel the more intense workout throughout my hips, thighs, and calves.There are several exercises in the Total Sculpt plus Abs video and Complete Aerobics & Weight Training video that requires the stick to be disassembled to use the ends as 1 lb hand weights. After several workouts, I found the disassembling of the stick was not worth my time, since the 1 lb was like working empty-handed. I now use my lightest dumbbells during this segment of the routine. Overall, I found the stick to be an excellent source of stability, but other workout sticks can be purchased at a much cheaper price or simply use the stick from a broom or mop. I still think The Firm gives a good workout with great benefits and quick results, but it's Fanny Lifter that remains the key to an individual's success. For the best workout at a cheapest price, if you're an original Firm user purchase this video and use a household broomstick. Those new to The Firm can purchase an entire system containing the Fanny Lifter and the Stick. Because the workout helps me to get tone and sculpt, it still deserves 4 stars.
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